Passing by the packed waiting room, Nagai could hear the nightly news report that emanated from a wall mounted tv. The male newscaster's voice gradually softened as he and Tsukauchi, along with Yamikumo tailing close behind neared their interrogee's room further down the hallway.
"A gruesome sight was discovered last night in a storage facility located at the north of the Kaihoko district. A gang of 16 quirk traffickers were found severely injured with one deceased. Heroes and police are currently still investigating what exactly took place. The rate of hero patrols in the area and its surrounding regions has been reportedly tripled, as a precaution should a similar incident take place. In the meanti-"
"I didn't expect that you'd have Yamikumo around for the interrogation. I assumed that you'd want him to interview the hospital's staff about the status of the other traffickers, like the rest of your team," Tsukauchi abruptly remarked, interrupting the newscaster.
"I just figured that young blood like him could benefit from the experience."
Tsukauchi was pleasantly surprised. "Never thought of you as the mentor type."
Arriving at the room's door, the three detectives flashed their police badges and detective tags, before the officer who stood guard allowed them passage.
Inside the room, their interrogee was a skinny auburn haired man lying upright in a hospital bed. The man's face was badly bruised in purple and red tones, more noticeably around his nose and temple.
Standard procedure would require at least one of the man's arms to be cuffed to the bed for security purposes. That wasn't necessary however, as the man's arms appeared to be severely injured, held in place by medical braces that inserted metal pins into his already bandaged arms.
The man turned his head to face his visitors, wondering who they were.
Attempting to maintain a guise of neutrality, Nagai introduced himself and his company. "Detective Inspector Nagai from the MCPD's Violent Crimes Unit. Next to me is Detective Yamikumo from the VCU too and Detective Inspector Tsukauchi of the Hero Affairs Unit."
"Why's someone responsible for hero affairs here?"
"Detective Tsukauchi is here to determine the level of hero involvement required for this case," he cleared up.
On paper, that was the reason for why Nagai had Tsukauchi come along. In actuality, he just wanted Tsukauchi around to solidify the interrogation results.
"And you," Nagai said as he wagged a patronizing finger, "you're Akio Akiyama, quirk, Resin Blast. Aged 32. Your official residence is registered at an apartment in Nakano City. You've been arrested before on two counts of assault, four counts of possession of illicit substances and so far, one count of-"
"-quirk trafficking"
"Did I get that all right?
"..."
"...Yes," Akiyama reluctantly replied.
Nagai sneered. "Though I'm sure you've done more. Especially someone like you. The records are always cleaner than reality. If we weren't in a hospital, you'd have to worry about me adding another bruise to that ugly face of yours."
"I was desperate, alright. I needed the money. It was too good to refuse. I-I didn't want this. I didn't know that it would lead to this shit happening to me!" Akiyama cried out, glaring at his arms in distress.
"Scum like you deserve every bit of what happened and more. It's a shame that your arms weren't amputated," Nagai taunted, shedding his professional demeanor.
Tsukauchi quickly intervened. "Introductions and unnecessary threats aside, we're here to interrogate you regarding what happened in that storage facility at Kaihoko last night. 16 people including you survived, albeit with varying levels of injury. The only death was your boss, Kitamura."
Upon hearing the news, Akiyama didn't seem taken aback by the news of his boss's passing, his expression unchanged.
Then Akiyama snarled. "Why the hell should I bother telling you anything? I have every damn right to remain silent. Especially talking to cops like you all. I get nothing out of it. In fact I'd be digging my own grave!"
Before Tsukauchi could open his mouth to answer, Nagai responded instead.
"You have a few reasons I can list. Other than the fact that at least one of you will tell what happened either way, I'm sure that under normal circumstances, you'd want to find the person that butchered you and your friends like pigs."
"However, based on your text history with Kitamura, I presume that you've barely known them for more than a week. So I think it's more accurate to say that you alone want to find whoever that didthis-"Nagai lazily gestured at Akiyama's broken form with one hand, "-to you."
"Whoever that reduced you to this sorry state. You'd be lucky if you can even bend your fingers. If you didn't have shame working as a quirk trafficker before, now I'm sure you'll have shame living as a useless, pathetic cripple who won't even be able to care for himself for the rest of his life."
"I'm also sure that you're aware of how many years the crime of quirk trafficking carries. Combine that with our nation's conviction rate that exceeds 99 percent and you have more than enough reason."
Nagai briefly paused to let Akiyama's gears turn, while he grabbed a chair for a seat.
"Since you're the first person we talk to, we can be more 'lenient'. Cooperate, and we may be able to entertain the possibility of shaving a few years off your sentence. Naturally, that depends on what you say."
"The choice is yours," Nagai informed with a callous smile.
As Nagai finished his sentence, he could see a gleam of submission within Akiyama's eyes.
There we go. Say the right truths, plant the right thoughts and they'll crack one way or another.
"Fine, I'll tell."
Simultaneously, he could sense Tsukauchi gazing at him with a hint of disapproval, bothered by his method of persuasion.
Admittedly, it was an underhanded way of phrasing things to influence Akiyama to open up. Though as long as it didn't cross a line, Nagai didn't hold any reservations against playing fast and loose for the sake of his own convenience.
Once Tsukauchi had cleared the formalities and turned on the recorder, Akiyama told his account of events.
"You can begin, Mr Akiyama" Tsukauchi permitted.
"Kitamura approached me about two weeks ago and offered me the job. I was in a rough spot so I accepted. His down payment was more than enough."
"A few days ago, he gathered everyone he hired at that storage facility to set things up. Planning, moving equipment, that kind of thing. We surveyed people with specific quirks that Kitamura wanted. Well, what his client wanted actually. Our ideal targets were mostly street whores, the homeless and runaway teenagers, people that wouldn't garner too much attention if they went missing."
"Sick fucks," Nagai muttered under his breath.
"Yesterday evening, Kitamura said that he needed to meet a potential partner. So he went out alone, while he ordered us to continue on with preparations."
Nagai fiercely demanded to know their identities. "Who is this client and partner?"
"No clue, he never told us who he was working with or for. Didn't trust us enough. He just told us to follow his orders or we wouldn't get paid in full."
"Then?"
"An hour after Kitamura left, we were attacked."
"By who?"
Akiyama took several deep breaths to calm his nerves, preparing to narrate the traumatizing series of events he experienced.
"We didn't know someone broke in until we heard screaming. It all happened so fast. Everyone rushed into the foyer to see what was going on. It came from one of the guys. He was screaming on the ground with huge gashes all over his body.
"Once everyone was there, we heard a second scream from a guy I was more familiar with called Higashi. This time, everyone saw who did it. It-it was someone dressed in all black, holding a katana. They wore a black jacket with the hood up, black cap, black mask and black gloves. Black everything. The only part I could see was the upper area of the face."
Nagai scowled.
Well there goes having a face to look for.
"So you could see their eyes?"
"Their eyes were green. Dark green."
"Describe the attacker's physical appearance." Nagai requested.
"Lean, shorter than average I think? Looked like a guy. Yeah, it was a guy, unless it was a flat-chested girl or some shit like that."
"Go on."
"I can't tell if it was a quirk or just skill, but while everyone was looking around trying to figure out what happened to the first guy, he snuck behind Higashi and stabbed him back in the back."
"The first guy was a trap to lure us there, to get everyone in one place. As both of them were screaming their lungs out, the katana guy stared at us while we stared back. Beneath that mask, I swear he was grinning like crazy."
"Some of the guys with mutant quirks or a weapon tried rushing him, while the rest of us prepared to use our quirks on him "
"Then all hell broke loose," Akiyama grimly stated.
"One by one, he cut down each of us. His quirk made him move faster than we could see. Even though we had the whole foyer lit up with lights and lamps, we couldn't track where he went. We'd only see a black blur, followed by someone bleeding out."
"The worst part was that he didn't make any noise. After he was done with one or two people he'd disappear into the mess of junk and crates in the foyer. A few seconds later, he'd reappear at a completely different end of the foyer, spilling someone else's blood."
We couldn't hear any footsteps, any creaking or any thuds that could've told us where he was coming from. The only thing we could hear were our yells and screams," Akiyama described, visibly disturbed.
Nagai's thin brows furrowed. "So you think that this person's quirk has something to do with stealth, possibly sound suppression along with heavily enhanced speed?"
"Could be."
Without warning, Tsukauchi interjected.
"Are you trying to say that this person has two quirks?"
Akiyama's eyes widened a little. "I-I don't know. Is that even possible?"
Concern washed over both Nagai and Tsukauchi for different reasons.
"Continue," Nagai ordered.
"The only time we managed to do anything was when a guy whose quirk was having octopus tentacles as tails, Yoshida was his name I think, somehow caught both of the katana guy's arms with his tentacles during the chaos. Someone with a knife and another with claws took the chance to rush him. I was standing nearby and held both my arms out, preparing to use my quirk on him."
Halting for an unpleasant gulp, Akiyama carried on. "Before I could even see it, he sliced all eight of Yoshida's tails into chunks of meat. Yoshida and the other two guy's bodies were covered in cuts. All three of them collapsed instantly."
"That's when I realised that all of this was entertainment to this monster. He slowed down to let himself get caught by Yoshida for fun. There wasn't a moment where we could've harmed him."
"I wanted to run, but before I could even put my arms down and before I even felt it, H-he sliced both my arms open, along with my left leg. Then he hit my face with a left hook, sending me flying into a wall."
"The pain was too much for me to get up from. I saw him take his time with anyone left, before everyone was on the ground covered in blood.
"Then what happened?"
Akiyama laid on the concrete wall, pain overflowing from his arms and left leg. Sparing a quick glimpse at the limp arms on his sides led to his head recoiling in horror.
His arms were a bloody mess, defiled by god knows how many cuts. There was too much blood to see where he'd been cut. The flesh on his arm wasn't solid anymore, transformed into a mushily broken mass of bone and red.
The sight of his arms and the increasing pain drowned Akiyama in nausea, filling his oesophagus with bile. The taste of vomit lingered at the back of his throat, though he resisted the urge to throw up as hard as possible, aware that the blood loss would kill him sooner if his body lost any more fluid.
He closed his eyes, doing as much as he could to ignore the pain but to no avail.
" *Snap* *Snap* You're still conscious, aren't you?" a voice called out without warning.
Without making a sound, the katana guy had made its way to where Akiyama laid, crouched down and snapping its fingers in an attempt to catch his attention.
Playing dead, Akiyama prayed as hard as he could to whatever god that was watching that the monster in black would leave him be and not finish him off.
Go away, go away.
"How long ago did Kitamura leave for his meeting?"
Akiyama remained unresponsive, holding his breath.
"I can tell that you're still awake. C'mon, don't pass out now," the katana guy whined.
Alas, his prayers were unanswered.
"I don't like repeating myself, so-"
Instantaneously, Akiyama felt the edge of a katana in contact with his neck, still wet with the blood of his fellows. Crimson drops flowed down to the base of his neck, soaking the collar of his shirt.
"Again, tell me how long ago did Kitamura leave for his meeting, or I'll cut your head clean off right here and now,"the monster threatened, sounding mildly annoyed.
Akiyama's mind went into full-blown panic.
OH GOD OH GOD.
Opening his eyes, Akiyama confessed. "H-he left about an hour ago! I don't know where he went, I swear I don't! I really don't!
"How long until he comes back?"
"I-I-I don't know! He didn't tell us anything!"
"Are you lying to me?"
"I'm not! I'm not! Please! Please! I don't wanna die! Please!" Akiyama hysterically begged as he felt the edge cutting into his skin.
The monster's emerald eyes squinted, seemingly in anger. Akiyama in turn fearfully shut his eyes again, bracing for the katana to cleave through his neck.
Out of Akiyama's expectations, the monster stood up, leaving him be. Akiyama swore the monster muttered something that sounded like, "Looks like I'm too early", before walking away from where he laid.
At the end of Akiyama's recollection, his voice was quivering, the memory still fresh like dew.
"What did this katana guy sound like?"
"H-his voice? It sounded deep, but it was weird. Like someone trying to sound like another person.
Interesting.
Nagai's eyes narrowed. "What else happened?"
"Seconds after he was done talking to me, I saw someone limping for the exit. The katana guy noticed too. That poor bastard ended up on the ground with a katana through his shoulder."
"They said something to each other, before the katana guy walked out of my view. I didn't see him again."
"What about Kitamura?"
"After what felt like hours but probably minutes, I saw him walk into the foyer. I don't remember anything else. I think I passed out from the blood loss."
"Is that all you remember?"
Akiyama took a long blink before giving his answer. "Yes, that's all I can think of."
Nagai stared intently at Akiyama for a few seconds, before proceeding to his final few questions. "Tell me, other than that partner and client, did Kitamura mention anyone that stood out? Any superiors, associates, friends, rivals, enemies or anything of the like?"
Kitamura grimaced before responding. "No. Like I said, he kept everything to himself."
Nagai was unsatisfied with that answer. "Think hard and tell me again."
Akiyama thought hard for a few minutes, before responding once more.
"Well… now that I think about it, a couple days ago I overheard Kitamura having a conversation with someone. I'm not sure who it was since it was over the phone but Kitamura mentioned something about how 'this better be worth it' and 'he'd make sure that things were ready'. It was none of my business, so I didn't bother staying to listen."
Nagai leaned back in his chair, digesting the new information.
Could it be that number from Jaku?
"Anything else?"
Their conversation paused again for a minute or so of silence, before Akiyama uttered his final answer.
"That's really all I can remember"
"We're done, get well soon," Nagai stonily concluded without an ounce of emotion.
Once Tsukauchi had turned off the recorder, Nagai rose from his seat and left the room without sparing any more attention to Akiyama, followed closely by Tsukauchi and Yamikumo behind.
Closing the door, Tsukauchi gave Nagai a stern look. "That was rather out of line. Tell me, did you mean every word you said just now?
A near imperceptible frown formed on Nagai's lips. "That's irrelevant to our investigation. I do what I need to do for results."
For a moment, a layer of unease permeated the air between the two.
Shrugging his shoulders, Nagai pushed Tsukauchi's grievances aside. "Back to the reason why I brought you here. Was he lying about anything?"
"No, everything he said was true, or at least he believes it is."
Nagai let out a groan of annoyance, placing a hand to the side of his head. "Akiyama didn't reveal enough. But we need to work with what we have.
"You haven't interrogated the other traffickers yet," Tsukauchi reminded.
"If that's all Akiyama knows about and he wasn't lying, I don't expect that his 'friends' will know any more than him."
Nagai turned to face Yamikumo. "Yamikumo, what do you think?"
"Me?"
Taken off guard, Yamikumo pointed at himself, unsure whether he was being asked for his opinion. His fox ears twitched nervously, betraying his hesitation.
"Yes, you. What are your thoughts about Akiyama's testimony?."
"Well… the description of this katana guy, especially the speed and stealth, matches up with the lack of evidence found. If what he's saying is true, this katana guy... he's deadly"
Nagai crossed his arms, his expression unreadable. "Someone with a quirk like that, moving at that kind of speed while suppressing sound, coupled with that level of skill with a katana is more than deadly."
This is an assassin's work, and a professional one it seems.
His suspicions practically spawned the second he finished reading the scene report. The testimony all but confirmed it.
Tsukauchi added, "It's possible that he did what he did with the use of some high-end support gear. That would explain some aspects of his quirk"
"Possible," Nagai accepted. "Still, leaving behind no evidence implies a high level of skill.
There was a brief silence as the three detectives deliberated.
Yamikumo finally broke it. "What do we do next?"
"We figure out who this 'partner' and 'client' are," Nagai decided, refocusing his thoughts. "Kitamura's dead, but all of this is interconnected. There's a network behind him, no chance someone like him did this alone. Those resources came from somewhere."
"I agree. Based on what Akiyama was talking about, I think there's something bigger going on than just quirk trafficking," said Yamikumo.
"As for that assassin…" Nagai contemplated, moving a hand to his mouth
Yamikumo tilted his head slightly. "What about tracking him through the quirk registry? We have a rough profile, dark green eyes, below average height, speed and stealth enhancements, maybe we can narrow down some suspects."
"It's doable," Tsukauchi approved, but his voice was doubtful. "However, you'll be limited to criminal records. If this guy is smart enough not to leave any evidence behind, it's not unlikely that he has his quirk registered as something else or he doesn't have a criminal record. Someone like him would know to do so to avoid leaving any trace."
"Then we file a request to access the civilian registry too." Yamikumo suggested. "Of course, that's just what I think," he hastily added.
"You can, but I'm not sure if it'll be approved. Officially, this case hasn't progressed to an extent that requires accessing the civilian registry," Tsukauchi explained.
Subtly, Nagai rolled his eyes. "Red tape, what a waste of time."
"Speaking of waste, Yamikumo, find the others and ask if any of the traffickers are stable enough for interrogation. It'd be a waste if we only came here to interrogate one person," Nagai ordered.
Nodding, Yamikumo set off to find the other three detectives, leaving Nagai and Tsukauchi be.
Once the young detective was out of earshot, Nagai turned to Tsukauchi. "Again, thanks for the help."
Tsukauchi smirked. "Don't get too comfortable Nagai. You have your cases and I have mine. Also you own me now."
Nagai smirked in return. "Of course."
Things were quiet for about a minute. Then out of the blue, Tsukauchi asked, "What do you think of him?"
"Yamikumo?
"Yeah."
"He's observant, sharp. But he's still young, inexperienced and needs to work on his self-esteem,
"This case is going to be tough for someone new."
Nagai's tone shifted. "We don't have time to coddle anyone. The kid himself knows it too. There's something more going on and we know too little. We're looking at a chance of yesterday's bloodbath repeating somewhere else or an active trafficking ring. Time is of the essence. Finding that assassin or Kitamura's associates places us one step ahead of everyone else."
"Still, I trust that the kid's competent enough to keep up despite his nerves, he's got the potential," said Nagai, his expression softening.
Inari Yamikumo stepped into his sedan, settling his well-groomed tail into a comfortable position before starting his car's engine. After the interrogation session, Detective Nagai had predictably ordered everyone to regroup at the station to further discuss their findings.
It was a surprise to him that Detective Nagai had offered him the chance to participate in the interrogation session as an observer. Inari expected that he would have needed to ask for a chance to participate in the interrogation, followed by a high likelihood of denial from Nagai.
The old man was far more lenient and open than Inari had expected, though that was probably in part influenced by Inari putting on the act of a shy and flustered rookie.
Exiting the hospital's compound onto the main road, Inari searched for a contact labelled as "Uncle" on his car's touchscreen, before dialing it through the car's wireless call system.
Things felt a lot easier for Inari after his promotion. Being a detective meant that he wasn't restricted to dressing in a boring blue uniform. More importantly, it meant that he was rid of that damn body camera, no longer needing to wear it on his person. It was tedious, since with that bodycam around, he could only call his "uncle" once he was off-duty.
Inari waited for a bit, before his call was picked up.
"Inari?" answered a masculine voice on the other end of the line. The voice was gruff and aged, belonging to someone who was at least 20 years Inari's senior.
"So far, the police are in the dark. Seems like Kitamura didn't tell his gang anything about what happened recently,"
"Hmph. If he told them the truth, I imagine that they'd flee away with their tails between their legs, leaving him to thrash out in the open."
"But I did find something of note. Apparently about an hour before he was killed, Kitamura left the facility and met with someone, a partner of sorts. I believe-"
"Hah. That 'partner' he met with was one of my men masquerading as an information broker," the voice revealed.
Inari was surprised by the revelation.
"What? Why would you have someone do so?" Inari questioned, genuine intrigue filling his voice.
"It was a way to ensure that he would stay in one place. To give him a false sense of security. I've despised that degenerate for as long as I've known him. Such a chance to deal with him cannot be wasted."
"If you hated him so much, why kill him now?"
"Him being part of that lot of traitors presented a suitable opportunity to ensure his death. If I'd ended him while everyone was still united, I'd face all kinds of repercussions," the voice calmly justified.
"Only Kitamura's death ended up on the news. I heard that even that staff-wielding twink with an electricity quirk we hired managed to keep his mess under wraps, even though he massacred an entire apartment's worth of people," Inari mentioned in slight disbelief.
"Heck, I also heard that the blind man thought of hiring a clean-up crew. Whoever that killed Kitamura sure did a sloppy job."
The voice groaned. "Such is the price of hiring independents. Their quality varies significantly. Despite that, most of them are worth their value. Even that sloppy one appears to possess a powerful quirk."
"Then I suppose you know who was hired to kill Kitamura?" Inari asked, interested about the identity of the individual that put an end to Kitamura's detestable existence.
"That independent was hired through a mediator. As much as I wanted Kitamura dead, he didn't warrant too much of my attention. It wasn't necessary to personally hire any specific independent for the task. I have more important matters to spend my time on."
Inari wanted to point out that his "uncle" cared enough to get someone to pose as an ally for Kitamura, but he decided against it.
"On a positive note, with how many channels and proxies we use to hire independents, it's impossible that anything gets traced back to us at all," Inari noted, lightly chuckling in the process.
"Still though, I'm shocked that you don't sound too unhappy. I presumed that you'd refuse to pay for such subpar work like that."
"At first I too, like the rest, were in more crass terms… pissed as fuck. The plan was to discreetly deal with Kitamura, then send some men to either eliminate, or assimilate whatever that was left of his group. Kitamura's original group was executed when he fled from Shinjuku, so it should have been simple enough to coerce the insignificants that he had hired into working under us."
The voice let out a deep exhale. "Truthfully, having the police and heroes involved this early poses a great risk. Despite that, Naoto sees the value in this turn of events. He believes that we may be able to use their involvement to our advantage."
"How so?"
"We use the police and heroes to create another form of pressure for the traitors. Another thorn by their side if you will. How exactly? Time will tell. We need to see how this whole debacle plays out before we decide on the next step."
Concern filled Inari. "Is that a risk we're willing to take? There's a chance too that we expose ourselves. Expose everything that's been going on. By all means, we can't underestimate pro heroes or the police."
Inari heard a pause on the other end of the line, a slight rustle as the man shifted, likely thinking of how to respond. The sound of raindrops softly tapped against his windscreen as it began to drizzle, filling the momentary silence.
"I am not saying we should. I have my doubts too, considering how conceited Naoto can be at times" the voice agreed. "But frankly, he's not wrong. As long as we tread with caution, we can utilise them to our benefit. We have infiltrators like you within the police force to ease that process."
"If you say so," Inari reluctantly accepted. So far he'd remained mostly passive, observing and collecting information relating to police operations. Attempting to influence an investigation would bring an entirely new set of variables.
Inari didn't doubt his skills in manipulation and cunning (of course he wouldn't, he's a heteromorph that resembled a fox), but variables were variables and Inari wasn't keen to take uncalculated risks.
"You've worked under them for long enough without inciting even a hint of suspicion. You have nothing to fear." the voice assured, recognizing Inari's concern.
"But." the voice quickly shifted into a tone of reserved concern far deeper than that of Inari's. "Will Nagai be a hindrance?"
The drizzle transformed into a downpour, drumming against his car's windows. "True to his reputation, Nagai's willing to use less… savoury methods to get what he needs. To what degree I have no clue. Not to worry though, risky as it is, I should be able to influence the flow of the investigation. And if Nagai gets too close, well…"
"… as much as I hate to say it, I'll take care of him"
Inari could imagine his "uncle" clasping his hands together in satisfaction, followed with a smirk.
"Excellent," his "uncle" praised. "Besides Naoto's perspective regarding the matter, he also says that we've sent a message to the traitors"
"A message?"
"To paraphrase him, 'Let them see it, let the news be plastered for all of them to see. It is a herald of our might. Our formal sign of first blood. We have indulged these fuckers for too long. It's time we start killing off these fools. Even if they have allied themselves with that fossil, we are more than capable of wiping them out."
"Quite the statement I daresay," the voice remarked.
"Hey. What did you expect from someone of his background?" Inari joked.
Unexpectedly, his "uncle" let out a brief laugh, before returning to business. "Enough chit chat. For now, you just keep playing your part. There is nothing that necessitates your direct action…yet.
"Remember, you let us know immediately should any developments occur.'" the voice emphasised, more serious than before.
Inari's hand tightened on the wheel. "Of course, I'll keep you updated."
The call ended abruptly, leaving Inari alone with the noise from torrents of rain that seemed to grow heavier and heavier by the second.
Inari glanced at the car's clock. Soon, it would be time to slip back into character.
Pulling into the police station's parking lot, Inar leaned into his seat, gazing at his reflection in the rearview mirror. The dark and storm of the night shadowed most of his face, but his yellow irises shone brightly, dimly illuminating his face and making his slitted pupils more sharp and piercing than usual.
You're a detective Inari, you earned it, even if your loyalties lie elsewhere.
Sure, the shy, easily flustered and hesitant detective was an act, but that didn't mean Inari was always confident in himself. The pressure and consequences that came from a single misstep constantly lingered in the back of his mind, chipping away at his sense of worth.
Maybe that's why I play this role so well.
He wasn't just playing the role of a rookie detective though, he was a pawn in a much grander, finer game. One that he didn't know the full extent of. The first wave of hits were a harbinger of things to come.
Shutting his eyes and suppressing a tensioned huff, Inari opened a black umbrella, stepping out of the car and making his way into the station, blending into the routine buzz of officers, detectives, and staff. Inside, Inari nodded at familiar faces offering polite greetings as he made his way to the V-1 meeting room.
As he entered, he spotted Detective Tsuraga seated alone at one end of the conference table. Inari bowed and smiled faintly at Tsuraga, the same shy, flustered act he'd perfected. Tsuraga simply nodded in return. Taking a seat opposite of Tsuraga, Inari waited as everyone else arrived minutes later.
As Nagai began the meeting, Yamikumo could only think about how everything would unfold.
So finally we have some more significant plot developments. There's something big going on, and it's just beginning to escalate bit by bit. What role will Izuku play in all this? Well, we'll see .